MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Marines and sailors with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, performed live-fire platoon attacks at Camp Pendleton’s Range 600, Jan. 14.
The platoons each rushed steep hills in buddy pairs while firing live rounds and completing a mock mission to accomplish a company sized objective.
The terrain and chaotic environment pushed the Marines’ mental and physical endurance to the edge as the company continues preparation for a scheduled six-month deployment to Afghanistan next month.
The reserve infantry battalion arrived here Oct. 1, 2010, for pre-deployment and intermediate location training.
The platoons were each equipped with a rocket team who had AT-4 rocket launchers and an M32 grenade launcher, a 60 mm mortar team, a machine-gun fire support team, a support element and a main element.
Three rockets were fired at a rundown tank, a few hundred meters in the distance. Each rocket hit the target. Mortar rounds rained down on the mock enemy atop the hill, all while the machine guns worked to suppress the objective for the support and main elements as they maneuvered to their assault positions.
The support and main elements were composed of the remainder of the platoon's riflemen whose mission was to assault the hill.
When each platoon stepped off, the rocket, mortar and machinegun went to fire-support locations for the support and main elements as they maneuvered to eliminate the company objective.
"This type of training helps builds trust with all the other Marines in the platoon," said Lance Cpl. Bobby Henrichsen, a rifleman with Alpha Company, 1/23, a Houston-based infantry battalion. "The platoon already has good chemistry, but platoon attacks help us work together as one unit while building communication."
Lance Cpl. Jordan Arnett, a rifleman with Alpha Company, 1/23. Arnett has previously deployed to Iraq and says that trust is one of the most important factors developed before heading out to Afghanistan.
"We train so much together so we are able to read each other and anticipate each other’s next move," said Arnett. "At night when we are in full gear, I can identify each member of my squad just by the gear they or wearing or even how they walk, just because I’ve developed that extra sense by being with my fellow Marines so much."
| Date Taken: |
01.14.2011 |
| Date Posted: |
01.27.2011 19:23 |
| Story ID: |
64344 |
| Location: |
CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: |
697 |
| Downloads: |
3 |
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This work, 1/23 Marines train together to build combat skills, by SSgt Lucas Vega, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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